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Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Well, its finally here. The first look at a horror film that I've been waiting for all year now. We are still a ways off before its release, but this two and a half minute trailer will have to do for now. I am an avid Stephen King fan, the first author that I really obsessed over and watching so many of his works get adapted to screen over the years, I was starting to think his work was un-filmable. Sure, "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me" and "The Green Mile," those are all good. They are also not the typical horror stories King writes. When you look at his horror novels and the host of movies and TV shows based off of them, the great, good and even mediocre adaptations are far and in between. I was beginning to think that much of King horror work was un-adaptable. I get it though, King doesn't write conventional horror. His writings are disturbing, demented and you may want to vomit at times. King is who he is because he steps over the line so many of us would never dare cross, and that makes his horror work difficult to adapt.

Telling from this first trailer for "IT," it seems like director Andres Muschietti was a big fan of the epic, original novel. The atmosphere of Derry seems fully intact, even though I will admit that the cinematography is a little too slick for my tastes. (Give us a gritty horror film, goddammit!) But overall, the mood seems right there. Even though he's updated a few things, (the kids story took place in the 1950's in the book and their adult story in the 1980's. For this movie, the kids story will take place in the late 1980's and the adult story will take place now) it still seems in the spirit of King's novel. It looks like we will get a good coming-of-age story along with this absolute horror, which is the way to go with "IT."

Now, about Pennywise. Lots of people think Tim Curry's iconic portrayal won't be topped. Lots of people think that the moments in the trailer are too jumpy. Well, all I can say is, let's wait and see. I am glad this trailer doesn't give too much away about Pennywise and his character. I think also that they are trying to make the movie bankable to the average horror fan. Sadly, much of the horror landscape these days are built on "boo-scares" and cheap thrills. I hope Muschietti can find a happy balance. Plus, the trailer could be edited one way, and end being something else entirely. I would advice us all to take a breath. Let's see how this adaptation goes. I am on board. Its been awhile since I've felt this good about a King adaptation.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

I absolutely love that Spider-Man has been incorporated into the MCU, because Marvel really does have a great exploitation of their characters. When Spider-Man appeared in "Captain America: Civil War," it felt as if that was how it was always meant to be even from the beginning. Sure, I like the Toby McGuire movies, I forgot the Andrew Garfield movies. But none of that really matters now, Tom Holland IS Peter Parker. Through and through, the comic book character given magic and walked right out of the frames of the comics.

Now he's finally going to have an adventure of his own, set in the MCU. In this second trailer, we get a little bit more of an idea of what the story will be. It seems in some parts that the trailer has given up the entire movie. But I am so sure, I think there are some surprises left in store. We have no idea what "villain," Logan Marshall-Greene will be playing, heck I don't remember even seeing him in the trailer. We don't know who Donald Glover is. We barely see Shocker. So relax, we don't have a good context of how large Robert Downey Jr.'s role is, so let's not worry if he is overpowering Spider-Man's own movie just yet. Its a two-minute trailer. What if he's only in it for two minutes.

I love that we are getting two villains from the Spider-Man mythology that we haven't seen in a movie yet. Spider-Man has one of the richest rogues galleries of any superhero, and I love that Marvel and Sony are trying to capitalize on that. Michael Keaton will be an excellent Vulture. And if the second season of "Fargo" on FX was any indicator, Bokeem Woodbine is going to shock (no pun intended) the audience.

I dig this trailer. For the first time in a long time, I am actively frantic about a Spider-Man movie.

"I don't care how tough you are, I don't care how badass you think you are, you can Bruce Lee it up all you want, it gets to you."

So says an inmate of Red Onion, a supermax prison that is located in Virginia. His eyes are honest, his body-language normal, his speech unfaltering. We are watching someone who is clearly suffering from extreme loneliness and boredom, eating away at him like some kind of infectious disease. He carries on, discussing how he got there, discussing the personal moves he made that turned him into a criminal. He also goes over the daily life of being in solitary confinement. Red Onion is for the bad of the bad. Inmates in solitary spend twenty-three hours alone in a cell with nothing to do. They get privileges as their behavior gets better. Some are there are years, others for life, and some of them are there for life for questionable charges.

So should we use solitary confinement as a means of rehabilitating prison inmates? That's the question that plagues the entire film. As more and more inmates are interviewed, it seems more and more are being lost in the system of criminal justice rather than actually be rehabilitated. There are programs the prison offers that help people get from solitary to general population, but sometimes that doesn't even work. In fact, for a large amount of people in solitary, many never go back to general population. No matter how hard they try.

So why isn't more being done to correct this? Well, the documentary never says or even suggests. Its a dreary, cold movie. Showing inmate after inmate, listening to them discuss how downright depressed they are. We hear security guard after security guard discuss how its "just a job" and how some of them feel for the inmates. Do I believe prison reform needs to be more of a reality in this country? Sure, but I'd love some ideas and suggestions of how we go about that. I don't need the point of how poorly people are treated in prisons hammered over my head in order to get the point. For a documentary that doesn't even go over the hour-thirty mark, its awfully wordy and feels four hours long.

I am not sure I need to be told anymore just how much we are failing our inmates. How we have grand opportunities to make these people decent citizens again, and how we continue to drop the ball. I know all of this already. Far more documentarians have tackled this similar material with more insightful, more engaging results. This just left me wanting to jump through a jump-rope in the sunshine, I felt woefully depressed. Was that the only point of the movie? To show us how bad it is and make us feel terrible for these guys. Then mission accomplished. I do feel bad for these guys. Especially those are who are truly getting fucked by the system. But can't this movie do more than make me feel unpleasant? I feel like its a squashed opportunity.

Monday, March 27, 2017

It was just last year when "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice" came out. Warner Brothers was working tooth and nail to tell the world how much we needed to see this movie. If we didn't see it, our lives were worthless, and that there would not be a bigger movie that year. I believed it. No matter how much of a Marvel fan I am, and no matter how much I notice how successful Marvel has been, I thought for sure that Batman and Superman together would destroy the box office that year. The two most iconic superheroes on the planet finally sharing a screen, what could go wrong right?

Well, we all know how that turned out.

Despite DC's one-two punch not making as much money that they had hoped, and receiving mostly bad word-of-mouth, the studio is still full steam ahead with their DC cinematic universe, and now it seems like they are trying to borrow from their rivals at Disney, making a more upbeat movie for bringing their heroes together. Look, I don't think there is anything wrong with DC going more serious and gritty compared to Marvel. It all just comes down to making your movies good, offer a genuine experience and write to theme. "Batman vs. Superman" failed for most viewers because the characters didn't seem like themselves, much of it didn't make sense, and it felt like if you didn't have 75+ plus years of DC comics knowledge, then you were sunk on any storytelling level. If Snyder can tell us why each member of the "Justice League" is unique, if he can articulate their need to come together for the greater good, if we can get to know these characters and watch them step up against a threat where they need each other, then "Justice League" will be something people want to see over and over again.

Right now, there is still lots of skepticism. I mean I personally have a really hard time buying Ezra Miller as any kind of superhero, especially someone as upbeat as The Flash. Cyborg looks like he came out of a cheap YouTube show. I like that they are battling the parademons but can Snyder make them come off different to say, The Chitauri and Ultron? Ultimately, I am still on board. There is plenty that still interest me. I want to be excited every year DC releases a superhero movie. But the key is simple, just make good movies. People get fired up for, people remember when they leave the auditorium for all the right reasons. Its an emotional response, not rocket science. Don't overthink it.

"XX" is being sold as an anthology film made by four women. Each women directed one story segment. This may not appease the ant-SJW crowd, but I liked the prospects this could have created. Some people are so blown away when a woman directs a horror film. I remember reading and watching about Mary Harron directing "American Psycho" and how nobody could believe that something so despicable, violent and vulgar could come from a woman. Anybody at anytime can surprise you in any genre.

There is an anime that connects the four segments together. While the animation of the walking doll house anime is quite cool, and visually arresting, it really makes no sense. In "V/H/S," the wrap around story was about people shifting through video tapes in haunted houses. There was a connection between the tapes and the wrap-around story, which made the movie experience much better. This anime doesn't connect with the other segments. I studied each wrap-around anime sequence quite hard, and I don't see any connective tissue that links it to the other segments. Its quite beautiful, but mildly disappointing.

The first segment, "The Box" is honestly every parents worst nightmare. What do we do when our loved ones don't eat? A woman's son looks into a box on a train, and suddenly for days, even weeks, he doesn't eat. He is healthy physically, he's just not hungry. He's not hungry for days. Then suddenly, whomever he tells what he saw in the box, they suddenly stop eating. Its a primal fear for anybody who has cared for anyone. I mean, I freak out if my two dogs don't eat, so I can only imagine what I'll be like as a father with children. The segment does a good job setting up a tension, and a rot inside two parents trying to understand what is going on with their children. Sadly, its a segment that ultimately goes nowhere, but its one of the better of the four.

That's the trickiness with anthology movies, particularly anthology horror films. Can you make the segments connect in a significant way. Are there themes and metaphors to the segments, and if so, what are they? Its not necessarily bad when the segments are random and there is no apparent connective tissue between them. But it makes for an experience with less impact. Plus, if you are going to make a horror anthology, make your segments terrifying. I can honestly say there are some good, even great ideas in this anthology. There is a wicked humor to "The Birthday Party" that I appreciate, "Don't Fall" is a spooky little desertland fairytale that would have been better if it weren't for the bad CGI, and "Her Only Living Son" is a fun riff on the "you're son is the devil" story. There is some genuine creepiness on display for many of the segments. I just wish I was shuttering while typing. Which I am not.

But in the future, good luck to Roxanne Benjamin, Sofia Carrillo, Karyn Kusama, St. Vincent and Jovanka Vuckovic for their sometimes riveting, othertimes mediocre work done on this anthology. I think all of these women have a good eye for the terror, and if they channel it in the right ways in the future, they have some homeruns they will hitting out of the ballpark. All of these women show promise and sometimes, that's what is most important.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Sorry that this has been MIA for a little while now. I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging. I've got a million excuses if you are really that interested. If not though, let me reacquaint you with the last version of this I held and we will start a new round today!

1. The most vicious reality television show you could think of, featuring muscles!

2. The intertwining lives of several people living in a city where a priest eats people everything is black and white.

3. The Chosen One is asked to stop two renegades from entering a chapel!

Get? Get it??

Now here is round nine of this, you will have an entire week to play along. Have fun.

1. A troubled man tries to make a better life for himself, only making it worse than before. He doesn't tell his friends his plans, and everyone gets put in danger. There are lots of big words and big ideas used here.

2. A guy lives in a world where they do the same thing every day. In order to bring on some variety, he introduces some new traditions into their world. They get a little out of hand, but he saves the day in the end.

3. A young man wants to do some good in the world, he tries really hard but nearly dies several times. He gets some help from some people and gets locked into a world of betrayal and blood.

Another round of Heroes vs. Villains gone. Its been a bloodbath of voting this passed few days. Now moving into our third round, here is how things shook out.

You guys must really love the Caped Crusader, because he is further advancing in our Heroes vs. Villains bracket, easily knocking Martin Riggs out of the competition (Batman received over 90% of the vote). Wolverine defeated Jason Bourne, in a rough and tough vote. That was really close, in fact, I nearly called for a revote. But Wolverine was victorious, (he received 52% of the vote). Easily the biggest upset of the third round was Jyn Erso edging out Spider-Man in another incredibly close vote (Erso received 51% of the vote, Spider-Man received 49%). Uhura edged out Ethan Hunt, taking 80% of the vote with her.

As far as TV heroes go, I guess all my Trekkie readers were asleep this week, because Daredevil took 70% of the vote to edge Spock out of the competition. Hercules took 60% of the vote to edge out Ragnar Lothbrok out the competition. Arya Stark took Luke Cage out of the competition, she took a little over 70% of the vote. Then, Goku destroyed Carol Peletier, and got her out of the competition, taking over 60% of the vote. I guess Goku didn't look at the flowers.

On the darker side of the bracket, Darth Vader devastated The Enchantress this round, taking almost the entire percentage of voting. Chucky easily took Samara out of the competition, taking slightly over 80% of the vote. Saruman advances over Micheal Corleone, taking 75% of the vote. Zemo took out Ed Rooney, garnering 68% of the vote. Nice job, bad guys! These were the results of the Movie villains bracket.

On the TV Villain side of things, Don Draper continues his dominance over the TV Villains, taking The Monster out of the competition with 80% of the vote. Gus Fring took Negan out of the competition, taking 78% of the vote with him. Annalise Keating took Ari Gold out of the competition, with 65% of the vote taken. Then, Dr. Hannibal Lecter took Ramsey Bolton out of the competition also garnering 65% of the vote.

Here are the match-ups for this round. This round starts today and will go to March 29th.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Just like that, the first round of my third annual Heroes vs. Villains March Madness bracket is over.

As per most years, this year was a total bloodbath, with battles raging on all sides of the bracket. There may have been a couple upsets, and some big surprises. But that is the usual in these types of things, and I am glad that this is going over so well for another year.

Once again, Batman, Darth Vader, Spock and Don Draper have proven their worth and popularity, advancing to their next round. Easily erasing their competition. In the Movie Heroes bracket, in a particularly close vote, Martin Riggs edged out Doctor Strange. Jason Bourne defeated David Levinson. Wolverine shredded The Dude, although that vote was closer than people may think. Spider-Man webbed up Black Panther. Jyn Erso defeated Belle. Uhura outlasted Aragorn. And in a shocking turn of events, Ethan Hunt advanced over Rick Blaine.

In the TV Heroes side of things, Daredevil, Hercules, Ragnar, Luke Cage, Arya Stark, Carol Peletier and Goku will be advancing to the second round with Spock. All easily weeding out their competition.

On the darker side of the bracket, the Movie Villains bracket was all over the place. Advancing with Darth Vader include The Enchantress who defeated The Invisible Man. Samara defeated Ursula. Chucky destroyed The Douche. Saruman outlasted Shere Khan, Michael Corleone defeated Raveena. Zemo edged out Lex Luthor in a close vote. And Ed Rooney surprisingly defeated Michael Myers.

On the TV Villain side of things, The Monster advances over Jerome, Gus Frint advances over The Reverse Flash. Negan, Annalise Keating, Ari Gold, Ramsey Bolton and Hannibal Lecter also live to see another day of battling. Round Two starts tonight, it will run until March 24th.

After all the "Hunger Games" and "Harry Potters" and "Divergents" coming our way recently, I knew it was only going to be a matter of time before we got an adaptation of "The Dark Tower." To be honest though, its been in the making for awhile now. Its just been constantly shelved, and constantly jump-started. Its gone up and down in development Hell, and for awhile I never thought we'd actually get it. Now in four months, we will actually finally see The Dark Tower come alive.

This is a series of novels by Stephen King, about a gunslinger named Roland trying to make it to the Dark Tower. It was series of seven or so books that blended fantasy, horror, western and some other genres, you'd think that they wouldn't go together, but somehow Stephen King made it work. For the most part, at least. Idris Elba will play Roland and Matthew McConaughey will play the film's villain. It will be interesting though, since apparently, they are not making an adaptation of the books, but a continuation. Will you have to know the books before you see the movie? I honestly have no idea.

The first poster dropped today, and it looks cool I guess. I kind of feel like its borrowing a little too much for "Inception" and "Doctor Strange." This is really not what the world of "Dark Tower" is supposed to look like. Not particularly, of course. Its tough to describe without getting into spoilers. But the world of "The Dark Tower" is very different from our normal world and I don't quite know if we will see it in this movie. It was definitely not pieces of other pop culture, it was its own thing. I hope the movie showcases that as well.

However I do have one rule, keep your lists strictly for television serials. No TV movies, no mini-series, no televised specials or events (no Super Bowls, sporting events, Presidental debates...) Strictly television serials.

Monday, March 20, 2017

I say again, never conduct a vigilante investigation. It could mean bad news, for you and anybody else you get to help you. Anybody you get rolled in with. It could only mean bad news. In this film, our main characters conduct a vigilante investigation. All over a stolen computer, and while there is a slick, dark sense of humor throughout the entire movie. "I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore" is anything but goofball. This is a near perfect blend of the funny and the serious and the turns it made were a bit shocking.

It begins with Ruth (Melanie Lynskey) a socially awkward nursing assistant who gets her computer stolen one night. She can't seem to gather enough evidence of what happened in her home, and the police are of no help. She thinks its her odd neighbor Tony (Elijah Wood) who did it, but he proves that it wasn't and they become friends. He helps her conduct a vigilante style investigation, and they begin to see some forward progress. When they both get tangled in with a group of vicious criminals, things get incredibly complicated.

Melanie Lynskey is an actress I have enjoyed since I saw her on HBO's "Togetherness," a show that only lasted two seasons, they were only eight episodes each, but it was an honest, touching show and I wish more people saw him. She does really good work here. Her chemistry with Elijah Wood is completely equities. They are a profound duo, they are weird and quirky and richly human. It maybe in an oddball sort of way, but it adds a great flavor to the movie. The other great performances are the criminals themselves. The leader played by David Yow is both hilarious in some moments and righteously scary in others. There is a wild mix that he is able to create, and neither side of the character never feels out of place, never intoxicates the other.

If you like your comedies with a bit of a dark edge, check this out on Netflix.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

I saw "Kong: Skull Island" last night. I was incredibly excited to see it, a movie I felt was high on my must-see list for the year. I love this resurgence of monster movies, and I thought after "Godzilla" a few years ago, this sub-genre was heading in the right direction. "Kong: Skull Island" is full of great actors, including Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Corey Hawkins, John C. Reilly, Toby Kebbell, Shea Whigham, and John Ortiz. I liked the idea, that this Kong story was going to go in a different direction than the usual story we see in King Kong movies. So I figured, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, despite all the good actors and some big money shots, "Kong: Skull Island" is shockingly lifeless. If you are wondering if you want to see it, let me just tell you, you've seen it. If you saw "Godzilla" in 2014, you've seen "Kong: Skull Island." Oh sure, "Kong: Skull Island" takes place during the Vietnam War, yes a giant gorilla isn't a giant lizard. But trust me, if you saw 2014's "Godzilla," you have seen "Kong: Skull Island." There is a government cover-up lead by John Goodman's character, there was a character trying to get revenge after loosing a loved one, Kong is more of a force of nature than anything else, and near the end its revealed that he's actually a "hero" if you really want to get technical. All "Kong: Skull Island" was missing was Samuel L. Jackson saying "LET THEM FIGHT, MOTHERFUCKER!" There is really no need to get into the plot of the movie, because its so blatantly obvious.

Sure, I get it. They are rebooting the franchise. Yes, there are plenty of movies that are built on the spines of others. But its so obliviously clear that this is copying "Godzilla's" success that it almost seems phony. The movie is only partially a "Godzilla" prototype. The part of the movie is being similar to "Jurassic Park." A hot island, full of otherworldly wildlife, and a group of humans are just trying to survive. Yep, that's the big reboot model, a bunch of humans on an island just trying to survive. Again, it has this massive feeling of "Been there, done that."

None of that prepared me for when John C. Reilly showed up, as a man who has been trapped on the island for an insanely long time. I usually welcome John C. Reilly's participation in anything, and i can tell he's trying to be relevant here. But his character weighs him down. He's character is so completely out-of-place that his story feels like it belongs in a different movie. "Kong: Skull Island" has so many moments that feel out-of-place that its almost comedy. There are some "Apocalypse Now" riffs that made me so confused that I didn't know whether to laugh and stare at the screen in wonder of what I would witness. Sometimes, blockbusters benefit from being a little on the simpler side, this has so much going on and so many characters to keep track of, and they are all so poorly explored that I wonder what the point was.

Its really not all bad. "Kong: Skull Island" is a movie made up of moments. I think King Kong himself looks pretty damn amazing. The great cast throws themselves into this, clearly having fun with what they are doing. Like I said, there are some big money shots that will have your eyes melting in glee. There are some adventurous scenes that will leave you discussing them until summer rolls in. But honestly, its just not enough. All the other elements of the film are so pedestrian, that the movie never has any life. The characters are all just types, with ticks and mannerisms instead of characterization. Its pieces of other movies all searching for a whole movie. I don't mind when action movies are just the sum of other movies parts, but "Kong: Skull Island" has no story to tell. So I have a hard time caring about any of it.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Well, the third annual March Madness Heroes vs. Villains voting begins tomorrow. The first round that is. Here is how everything is going to play out...

Voting will begin on March 16th for First Round. Second Round voting will begin on March 21st. Third Round voting will begin March 24th. Fourth Round voting will begin March 29th. The Final Four vote will begin April 1st. The Final battle between the biggest hero and the biggest villain will commence on April 5th. You can vote by emailing me at bloggershawn@gmail.com. You can also vote in the comment section below. If you'd like to vote via Facebook message, that's fine too, please just let me know in advance

You will have until tomorrow (March 16th) until March 24th to vote for the first round, you can vote once a day. Spread the word.